470 ^^^ DESCENT OF MAN. 



bones and shells, which it sticks between the twigs or 

 arranges at the entrance. Mr. Gould found in one bower 

 a neatly- worked stone tomahawk and a slip of blue cotton, 

 evidently procured from a native encampment. These 

 objects are continually rearranged, and carried about by 

 the birds while at play. The bower of the spotted bower- 

 bird ** is beautifully lined with tall grasses, so disposed that 

 the heads nearly meet, and the decorations are very profuse.'' 

 Eound stones are used to keep the grass-stems in their 

 proper places and to make divergent paths leading to the 

 bower. The stones and shells are often brought from a 

 great distance. The regent bird, as described by Mr. 

 Ramsay, ornaments its short bower with bleached land- 

 shells belonging to five or six species, and with *^ berries of 

 various colors, blue, red, and black, which give it when 

 fresh a very pretty appearance. Besides these there were 

 several newly-picked leaves and young shoots of a pinkish 

 color, the whole showing a decided taste for the beautiful." 

 Well may Mr. Gould say that '^ these highly decorated 

 halls of assembly must be regarded as the most wonderful 

 instances of bird-architecture yet discovered;" and the 

 taste, as we see, of the several species certainly differs. * 



Preference for Particular Males hy the Females. Having 

 made these preliminary remarks on the discrimination and 

 taste of birds, I will give all the facts known to me which 

 bear on the preference shown by the female for particular 

 males. It is certain that distinct species of birds occasion- 

 ally pair in a state of nature and produce hybrids. Many 

 instances could be given; thus Macgillivray relates how a 

 male blackbird and female thrush " fell in love with each 

 other," and produced offspring.! Several years ago eight- 

 een cases had been recorded of the occurrence in Great 

 Britain of hybrids between the black grouse and pheasant ;| 

 but most of these cases may perhaps be accounted for by 

 solitary birds not finding one of their own species to pair 

 with. With other birds, as Mr. Jenner Weir has reason to 



* On the ornamental nests of humming-birds, Gould, "Introduc- 

 tion to the Trochilidae, 1861, p. 19. On the bower-birds, Gould, 

 " Hand-book to the Birds of Australia," 1865, vol. i, pp. 44 4-461. 

 Ramsay, in the " Ibis," 1867, p. 456. 



f " Hist, of British Birds," vol. ii, p. 92. 



t" Zoologist," 1853-1854, p. 3940. 



